Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Track the field and you’ll see Sunny shining

Track #3 Sunny by Jason Reynolds

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Track #3 Sunny is the third in the Track series and so far, perhaps the strongest of the bunch. Jason Reynolds has written Sunny in a diary format. While the information is all there (seeing Sunny running, not running, dealing with his family and friends) it is more tell than show. This can be a little awkward at times as, with a real diary, Sunny does not always start at the beginning or make sense. But there is a reason for that. Sunny’s writing is […]

Why are chemists great for solving problems? A: They have all the solutions.

Charlotte the Scientist Finds a Cure by Camille Andros

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First, I consider myself a feminist and for girl power and helping kids be their best. However, I also believe do not make things an “us and them” situation. The not subtle fact that our title character Charlotte, in Charlotte the Scientist Finds a Cure, is a girl doing science is great, but subconsciously it might turn off boys. Therefore, putting itself solidly in the “this is a girl book” category and boys might be less likely to pick it up. Camille Andros has created […]

A wholly satisfying ending to a great fantasy trilogy

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

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Spoiler warning! This is the third and final volume in the trilogy, and the action starts immediately after the second book. This is not the place to start. If you are not caught up, drop everything and start from the beginning with The Bear and the Nightingale.  Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna managed to defeat one enemy, but at a great cost. Releasing the legendary firebird has caused much of Moscow to catch fire and the citizens, spurred on by the vengeful and jealous Father Konstantin are looking for […]

If there is a whale, there is a way

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Heartbeat by Evan Turk.

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I was a bit disappointed with the end of Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. I would have liked Iris (our hero of this adventure) to have done something other than what she did at the end. While it was understandable the choice she made (as her options both had valid arguments), her choice was in line with the theme of going out on a limb, out of our comfort zone and trying something new. Kelly has written a well written and fairly non-preachy […]

If you don’t like the cold snow, try this warm treat

When the Snow Falls by Linda Booth Sweeney

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I liked the cover art of When the Snow Falls illustrated by Jana Christy. I was hoping the text by Linda Booth Sweeney would be as big of a hit. Unfortunately, it was not. Spoiler: The fact that all the sudden the parents disappear, and the kids are now at Grandma’s house is odd. They went from the country to the city in what seems like a blink. The one scene that looks like travel happens is the grandmother is pushing the children in a […]

“My father was dying and I was pregnant. Both struck me as impossibly unreal.”

Brother, I'm dying by Edwidge Danticat

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Do you like to cry? Do you like to be reminded about sadness, loss and the general unfairness of the world. Then boy! Do I have the book for you. In the very first chapter we follow a daughter as she takes her dying father to the hospital, and then later in the living room at home when he gathers the family turns to his wife and asks “What would you like to happen after I am gone?” So there we are, not just in […]



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